Standard Lemma guide

mentor

name · noun · verb · 17 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • men'tôr
  • men'tər
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmɛn.tɔː/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmɛn.toə/ without the horse–hoarse merger
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈmɛn.toɹ/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈmɛn.tɚ/
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˈmen.toː/
  • rhymes with -ɛntə(ɹ)
  • rhymes with -ɛntɔː(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: M EH1 N T AO2 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: M EH1 N T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

Odysseus's trusted counselor. He was assigned the responsibility of raising Odysseus's son Telemachus while Odysseus was away fighting in Troy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Greek, countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, mysticism, mythology, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A male given name from Ancient Greek.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

name

Meaning 3

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Jefferson Township, Dubois County, Indiana.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

name

Meaning 4

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Saline County, Kansas.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

name

Meaning 5

A number of places in the United States:

A minor city in Campbell County, Kentucky.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

name

Meaning 6

A number of places in the United States:

A township in Cheboygan County, Michigan.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

name

Meaning 7

A number of places in the United States:

A township in Oscoda County, Michigan.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

name

Meaning 8

A number of places in the United States:

A minor city in Polk County, Minnesota.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

name

Meaning 9

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Greene County, Missouri.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

name

Meaning 10

A number of places in the United States:

A city in Lake County, Ohio, the largest place with this name, named after the Greek Mentor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

name

Meaning 11

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Garfield County, Washington.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

name

Meaning 12

A number of places in the United States:

A ghost town in Jackson County, West Virginia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

name

Meaning 13

A number of places in the United States:

A town in Clark County, Wisconsin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

noun

Meaning 14

A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

15

verb

Meaning 15

To act as someone's mentor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

16

noun

Meaning 16

a wise and trusted guide and advisor

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wise man

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: intellectual, intellect

Narrower terms: sage

17

verb

Meaning 17

serve as a teacher or trusted counselor

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The famous professor mentored him during his years in graduate school
  • She is a fine lecturer but she doesn't like mentoring

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: teach, learn, instruct

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr, “Mentor”).

From French mentor, from Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr, “Mentor”), a mythological character in the Odyssey, whose name, a historical name from Ancient Greece, shares the same root as English mind. Cognate to Sanskrit मन्तृ (mantṛ, “advisor, counselor”) and Latin monitor (“one who admonishes”), and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti (compare Latin moneō (“to warn”), causative form of *men- (“to think”).

Across languages

Translations

59 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: Մենտոր — Odysseus's counselor
  • Bulgarian: Ментор — Odysseus's counselor
  • Danish: Mentor — Odysseus's counselor
  • French: Mentor — Odysseus's counselor
  • German: Mentor — Odysseus's counselor
  • Greek: Μέντωρ (Méntor) — Odysseus's counselor
  • Ancient Greek: Μέντωρ (Méntōr) — Odysseus's counselor
  • Italian: Mentore — Odysseus's counselor
  • Japanese: メントール (Mentōru) — Odysseus's counselor
  • Latin: Mentor — Odysseus's counselor
  • Polish: Mentor — Odysseus's counselor
  • Portuguese: Mentor — Odysseus's counselor
  • Spanish: Méntor — Odysseus's counselor
  • Turkish: Mentor — Odysseus's counselor
  • Bulgarian: наставник (nastavnik) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Bulgarian: ментор (mentor) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Chinese Mandarin: 指導者 /指导者 (zhǐdǎozhě) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Chinese Mandarin: 導師 /导师 (dǎoshī) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Danish: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Dutch: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Dutch: leidsman — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Esperanto: mentoro — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Finnish: ohjaaja — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Finnish: oppi-isä — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Finnish: mentori — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • French: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • German: Mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • German: Vertrauensperson — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • German: Vertrauenslehrer — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Greek: μέντορας (méntoras) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Gujarati: શિક્ષક (śikṣak) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Hebrew: מַנְחֶה (manẖé) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Hebrew: חוֹנֵךְ (ẖonéch) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Hindi: मार्गदर्शक (mārgadarśak) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Indonesian: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Indonesian: pembimbing — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Italian: mentore — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Italian: pigmalione — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Italian: tutore — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Japanese: メンター (mentā) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Korean: 멘토 (mento) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Macedonian: у́чител (účitel) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Macedonian: ме́нтор (méntor) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Macedonian: воспи́тувач (vospítuvač) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Eastern Mari: ача (ača) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Portuguese: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Russian: наста́вник (nastávnik) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Russian: ме́нтор (méntor) — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Spanish: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Swedish: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Turkish: hoca — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Welsh: mentor — wise and trusted counselor or teacher
  • Bulgarian: наставлявам (nastavljavam) — to act as someone's mentor
  • Finnish: opastaa — to act as someone's mentor
  • Finnish: ohjata — to act as someone's mentor
  • Finnish: mentoroida — to act as someone's mentor
  • German: betreuen — to act as someone's mentor
  • Serbo-Croatian: mentorirati — to act as someone's mentor
  • Serbo-Croatian: mentorisati — to act as someone's mentor
Real reading context

mentor in complete knowledge articles